N.C. State coach in attendance to see Ingram

North Lenoir's Kelvin Robinson (5) is defended by Kinston senior VeQuain Joyner (5) in Wednesday's game at Kinston High School.

Zach Frailey / The Free Press

By Keith Spence / Correspondent

Published: Thursday, November 22, 2012 at 12:36 AM.

It’s only one game, but this year’s Kinston boys and girls basketball teams look an awful lot like last year.

The defending state 2A champion boys made short work in their season opener of rival North Lenoir, rolling to a 72-40 victory, while the girls, who last season fell one game short of playing for the state title, were equally convincing in a 56-40 triumph Wednesday at Viking Gym.

Even more impressive, both teams won easily with one of their best players on the sidelines for most of the evening.

Josh Dawson scored six first quarter points for the Vikings boys then barely played again.

“Josh has been battling a virus and really wasn’t feeling well,” first-year Kinston coach Perry Tyndall said. “He’s such a competitor that he insisted on being out there, but fortunately we were able to rest him after the first quarter.”

That’s because Kinston (1-0) scored the game’s first seven points and ran out to a 19-5 advantage after the opening period.

It’s only one game, but this year’s Kinston boys and girls basketball teams look an awful lot like last year.

The defending state 2A champion boys made short work in their season opener of rival North Lenoir, rolling to a 72-40 victory, while the girls, who last season fell one game short of playing for the state title, were equally convincing in a 56-40 triumph Wednesday at Viking Gym.

Even more impressive, both teams won easily with one of their best players on the sidelines for most of the evening.

Josh Dawson scored six first quarter points for the Vikings boys then barely played again.

“Josh has been battling a virus and really wasn’t feeling well,” first-year Kinston coach Perry Tyndall said. “He’s such a competitor that he insisted on being out there, but fortunately we were able to rest him after the first quarter.”

That’s because Kinston (1-0) scored the game’s first seven points and ran out to a 19-5 advantage after the opening period.

Those 19 points came on 7-of-11 shooting, with several easy buckets coming off 11 Hawks turnovers in the first 8 minutes.

“Their defense just overwhelmed us at the beginning,” NL coach Anthony Loftin said. “It took us too long to settle down, and even when we did they were still able to make us do what we didn’t want to do.”

The second quarter was more of the same. By the time intermission rolled around, Kinston led 38-13. The margin swelled to as many as 34 in the second half as both teams substituted liberally and emptied their benches.

Despite the victory, Tyndall saw too much that he wasn’t pleased with.

“We gave good effort, but we were extremely sloppy,” Tyndall said. “A lot of that had to do with Josh going out. He’s such a huge part of what we do, but in a situation like that someone has to step up and pick up the slack.”

Two Vikings players who definitely picked up the slack were Denzel Keyes (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Brandon Ingram (18 points, six rebounds, two blocks, two assists.)

Ingram was performing under the watchful eye of N.C. State men’s basketball head coach Mike Gottfried, who was in attendance and has made no secret of his recruiting interest in Kinston’s super sophomore.

“I knew he (Gottfried) was here, but I wasn’t nervous or anything,” Ingram said. “I just tried to go out and play as hard as I could and do the things I usually do.”

Tiquan Canady added 10 points for the Vikings, who host South Lenoir on Tuesday.

Jaquaz Jones, who scored 26 points in NL’s season-opening victory over Greene Central on Tuesday, followed up with 15 more against the Vikings. He was the only Hawks player in double figures.

North Lenoir (1-1) hosts North Johnston on Tuesday.

KINSTON 56, NORTH LENOIR 40

Junior sensation Brittany Drumgoole played just one half due to a sore shoulder. Surprisingly, it was in the second half that the Vikings took control.

Leading 26-19 at the break after the Hawks (0-2) scored the final eight points of the first half, Kinston erupted behind Drumgoole’s replacement, Anshonee Addison.

Addison scored nine points in the third period, including six in a row at one point on back-to-back three-point plays, as Kinston (1-0) outscored NL 20-7 to build a 20-point advantage.